2016 Real Estate Wrap-up & 2017 Market Predictions

As you know, 2016 was a phenomenal year for real estate. Interest rates were low and thousands of people bought and sold homes.

In fact, the Wasatch Front saw one of the strongest housing markets that we’ve seen, even better than the peak of 2006. In 2016, we had a higher number of single-family homes sell throughout the Wasatch Front than we had seen before the recession hit.

In 2015, the average median price for single-family homes was $285,000. In 2016, the median price jumped by 7% to $305,600. The condo and townhome markets also saw some significant increases, with sales going up 18% and prices going up 5% to $193,000 from 2015 to 2016.

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2017 will be a strong year for real estate.

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So, what does 2017 look like?

The Utah economy is one of the strongest in the nation, and we also have a young population. The median age of our population is 29 years old, which happens to be the average age of the first-time home buyer. That means we can expect strong sales in 2017, but we probably won’t have another record-breaking year.

Predictions for 2017 are widely varied, which makes sense considering that they depend on the new presidency, our recovering economy, interest rates, and world events.

We do know that interest rates have been on the rise for the last 30 days and that the Fed has been very clear about raising rates further. What does this mean for you?

If you’re a buyer, keep in mind that every 1% increase in interest rates means that your buying power goes down 10%. If you’re a seller, interest rate increases will eliminate some of the people who can afford to buy a home. If you’re a buyer, you may wind up getting priced out of the market.

If you’re thinking about buying or selling a home in 2017, give us a call or send us an email. We would be happy to answer any questions you might have.